Undeciphered scripts

The writing systems listed below have yet to be deciphered or have
only been partially deciphered. In some cases the writing systems
have been deciphered but the languages they were used to write
remain a mystery.

Vinča / Old European

A collection of symbols found on many of the artefacts dating from
between 6,000 to 4,500 BC excavated from sites in south-east Europe,
in particular from Vinča near Belgrade. There is no agreement
on whether these symbols are a writing system.

Indus/Harappa script

A collection of symbols used in the Indus valley of India between
about 3,500 and 2,000 BC. Some believe that these symbols are non-linguistic,
while others argue that they represent a Dravidian language.

Linear A

Phaistos Disk

The Phaistos Disk was found in the Minoan Palace of Phaistos on Crete in 1908
and is thought to date from the 17th century BC. On it is inscribed an unknown script
and there are many theories about the language it represeents and what it means.
No other evidence of this script has been found.Further details

Voynich Manuscript

The Voynich Manuscript is named after Wilfrid M. Voynich, an antiquarian
book dealer who acquired it in 1912. It is lavishly illustrated manuscript
codex of 234 pages, written in an unknown script. One theory is that is was
written sometime during the 13th century by a Franciscan friar, Roger Bacon
(1214-1294). Many attempts have been made to decipher the text but none have
succeeded. Some think the manuscript is gibberish, and was probably a practical
joke played on Rudolph II.

Rohonc Codex

The Rohonc Codex (Rohonci kódex) is named after the city of Rohonc, in Western
Hungary (now Rechnitz, Austria), where it was kept until 1907, when it was moved to
Budapest. The origin of the codex is uncertain. In 1838 it was donated to the
Hungarian Science Academy by Gusztav Batthyány, a Hungarian count,
together with his entire library. It is written in an unknown language and script
and has defied all attempts to decipher it.